Tagged by Tay

So, compliments of my niece Taylor (Tay), I've been tagged. Tay you'll be happy to know I'm finally taking the time to respond to a tag:

So here goes:

1. if stranded on an island what three things would you bring other than food and water? um..... a good book, my camera and my ipod

2. What is your most prized possession? ooh that's a toughy, if we're talking non-material possessions, definitely my family, friends and my beliefs. for material things....probably my letters and random things saved from the past or my passport.

3.what is your motto? life is measured not by the number of breaths you take, but the moments that take your breath away!

4.what different states have you lived in? Utah, Texas, California. Countries: Chile

5. Favorite song? I've always loved "The way you do the things you do" by UB40 and "Everything" by Michael Buble. Way too hard to limit it to just one!

i tag... (Kim, Kammy, Steph, Nat, Beck, Justin, Taryn, Kim A., Stacy, Melanie, Catherine) and anyone else who happens to stop by and see this post, i would love to see what you guys put down for your answers!

Happy Valentine's!!!

Can I just say I love Valentine's Day!! I know there are many Valentine's haters out there who disagree but to me it's more than romance, it's about showing your love to family, friends and all the other special people in your life. O.k., but I'll be honest, I am a sucker for all things romance: romantic comedies,letters, flowers and stories of how people met.

So this weekend was an unexpected one, but soooo fun. I had been dying to go and visit my friend Natalie and Dave and their kids in Vegas, plus I found out there was a Single's Conf. going on so figured why not? Nat and Dave were the perfect hosts as always and I love it because we just get going and could talk for hours without even noticing it. As for the conf., I'll admit, was a bit of a shocker to walk in and be one of the younger ones, since there was no age cap!! But there was a group closer to my age and I met some cool people and overall was really glad I went.

I guess the best surprise of the weekend was this:




You know who you are and thank you, thank you, now if I could just know who you are!! Seriously, you have no idea how these totally made my day, my week and just wanted you to know how much I appreciated them!

Am came out for a visit last weekend and we had such a great time! It went by way too quick. The thing I love best when family comes to visit is how easy it is. Seriously, we could sit around and do nothing and it would still be the greatest weekend. Luckily, we did get out a little. We went to a taping, wait make that 2 of the Bonnie Hunt Show in Culver City, (we were trying to score any additional freebies), we made out w/2 Superbowl tins of popcorn, they were no cruise to the Caribbean, but hey they were something. We were lucky to have such amazing weather while she was here. We also made it to the 3rd street promenade for a little shopping and to the beach, where we rented beach cruisers, which was so much fun, minus a couple of overzealous bikers w/horns. Thanks for the fun weekend Ambey!!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!!

 
 
 
 

Well, we got home from our trip a couple of days ago and after finally sleeping off the jet lag and unpacking, I can't believe it's over! I seriously felt so cut off from the world while on our trip. We didn't have the most consistent internet access, so while I missed talking to everyone more frequently, it was kind of a nice break from reality. Can I just say again how much I love South America? and for those who aren't as great of fans or have not yet had the chance to experience it, I cannot recommend it more highly. Even after having traveled many places, I still come back to it. To me, it's like this hidden treasure. It has the most beautiful culture, architecture, natural beauty, plus some of the most amazing people you'll ever meet.

So, just a quick recap of our trip: we started off in Santiago, Chile and then traveled south within the country to Valparaiso and Vina del Mar, Puerto Montt, Puerto Chacabuco and Punta Arenas, then we went to the Falkland Islands, Ushuaia, and Puerto Madryn, Argentina, Montevideo, Uruguay and lastly ending up for a few days in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Every place was so unique and beautiful, just wish my pictures could do it justice. A few of the highlights were seeing the penguins, watching the tango dancers and by far the best, seeing old friends.

One of my favorite quotes is by George Moore: "A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it." I think that is so true, every time I fly home even after loving where I've been, I just feel so happy to be home and lucky to live in such a great country.

Happy New Year's!! Hope it's a happy, eventful year for everyone!!!

By this time next week.....

I'm so excited, I can hardly stand it! I can't believe it's been 11 years since I've been home from Chile. Next week at this time, my parents and I will be in Valparaiso, Chile, then getting on a cruise to go down south to Patagonia and around Cape Horn, ending up Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first couple of nights we'll be in Santiago and it works out great because one of the girls I taught when I was on my mission, is now at the University in Santiago, crazy!! and we're planning on meeting up w/her to get a tour of the city. I can't wait to see old friends from my mission and to also explore new places that I wasn't able to go to while I was on my mish and can't wait to see my parents impression of one of the most beautiful, friendliest countries on earth, but of course I'm partial :) For Argentina, have to say, even though I'm excited to see the sights, can't wait to see the Tango dancers! If any look remotely like him, then sign me up :)

Christmas is coming....

 
 
 
 

So this week my friend Maria from my ward invited me to this party that a friend of her who lives in Westwood was throwing at her house. Apparently this lady has been throwing this party for the last 20 years or so to showcase all her decorations and by decorations, I mean her entire house was converted to a little Christmas village. It was amazing, seriously every little nook and cranny had something Christmassy and every Christmas item had a theme, so yes in the laundry room, she had figurines of Santa and his elves ironing, etc... In the bedroom, she had Santa sleeping, etc... It carried on all the way outside where she had an entire Santa surf theme. I really don't know how they live in their house or where they store the stuff when they're not using it, but it was pretty cool. They live in this beautiful mansion and had valet parking and a little catered dinner. All that we had to do was bring a children's book that they donated in our honor. Very generous and such a fun tradition.

A Thanksgiving to Remember......

I just got back from a quick visit home for Thanksgiving, it's never long enough! We had such a great Thanksgiving, everyone except for Mitch and Beck and their fam's were there and they were really missed! Because there were so many of us, we ended up reserving the chapel for our festivities and it actually ended up being perfect. We had a very yummy dinner, played some basketball, played "turkey" bowling, actually it was a cornish game hen, and a mighty thawed one by the end of the round, gross!, did a little dancing and topped off the night w/Sardine's, a family fav and have to say a little bit creepy in the chapel. I really can't even begin to say how thankful I am for my amazing family and friends, I know I really lucked out in that department. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!